Hairy Cows and the Majesty of Skye

Today we depart Rhiconich for Skye and, seeing how beautiful it is in full daylight, I'm a little disappointed I just planned for us to stopover for the night here. The surroundings are just as stunning as anywhere else we've seen in Scotland, and it looks like a great place for long walks, wildlife spotting, and relaxing. Our B&B is cozy and warm and Susan serves us a delectable Scottish breakfast and friendly conversation. All this makes it a little hard to head back out into the wind and rain. Fortunately, it has eased up a bit so we no longer feel like we're traveling in a full hurricane.

The route from Rhiconich to Skye

The garden at Ardbeg House, Rhiconich, overlooking Loch Inchard

Just a few minutes down the road, we pull off for our first of many stops because Taylor has spotted a small herd of hairy cows (or "coos", as the locals call them) right near the roadside. We get out and approach them to see if they're amenable to interaction, as we've heard they're fairly docile. I approach a large blond one standing close to the fence and extend my hand to let it sniff me. It seems curious, so I reach further and just barely brush its nose, but it suddenly whips its head to the side to try to gouge me with its long horn. I back up and try instead to offer it some grass from the other side of the fence, but it only offers me its horn again. I'm not dumb enough to taunt a large, moody animal a third time so I back off. The cow just stands there, indifferent.

A grumpy hairy coo

Beautiful, magical Highland cows

After a few photos, we continue down the road. The drive should take about four hours, but we stretch it out to almost six. Around every ridge is a breathtaking scene, so we stop frequently to take photos and sarcastically call it "horrible". Around midday, our Scottish breakfast wears off and I pull over to fish some food out of our snack stash. We're near a shallow valley with a tiny stream running through it, and there are stairs and a wooden boardwalk leading out into a grassy field. I suggest we follow it to see where it goes, but we find that it just ends at a mud puddle. It starts to rain, so we return to the car, eat a few snacks and then resume the drive.

The boardwalk to nowhere

Rocky, grassy, watery, and colorful

Ruins next to a lake

Taylor tries to harness the beauty of Scotland

A majestic panorama

We stop a few more times for photos as we near the bridge to Skye. It seems there's no end to the majesty. Once we cross the bridge, we're looking for a place to pull off where we've heard there are friendly shaggy cows. Taylor spots some in a field and we notice several cars pulled onto the shoulder and people walking on the side of the highway toward them. We follow and find a group of about six people standing at a fence line where an amiable cow is allowing them to touch and feed it. Someone has left a bag of carrots on the ground, and it seems extremely motivated by them. I offer it a couple and it sticks out its long tongue to grab them, licking at my hand for more. It sniffs Taylor's face to see if he has anything more to offer, and lets us give its curly hair a good tousle. It's so cute I wish I could hang out there all day. Later we talk about going back for a visit on our way off the island.

Boopin' the snoot

Hairy cow kisses

Finally, we arrive at our destination, a cozy double-wide trailer just a few steps from the shore of Loch Portree. From here we can enjoy views of the lake and see downtown Portree, not to mention Scotland's characteristic green hills and The Storr, a striking rocky mountain rising up in the distance. Our host later comes to welcome us and tells us about the otters to look out for on the lake shore, and not to panic if we hear rustling near the kitchen window; it's just the red deer who have come to munch on the tree growing there. We've come to Skye to experience its natural beauty and it seems that won't be hard to do.

We head into town to look for dinner and, as usual, reservations are required and we have none. We stand in the doorway of a seafood restaurant that has just opened to see about getting a table. An American couple in their fifties is waiting ahead of us. The host comes out to tell them, with sincere apologies, that they are short-staffed and it will be about 30 minutes before they can be seated. The American man immediately becomes a toddler and starts yelling, "This is fucking bullshit!" His wife becomes embarrassed and quietly tries to coax him away from the restaurant's doorway as his tirade continues. The host repeats his apology and explanation to us. Half an hour seems a reasonable wait time and we tell him that it's fine and we'll wait. Five minutes later, the missing staff member shows up and we are seated at a window table. It pays not to be an impatient asshole:

The seafood platter